PowerSchool Breach Information

01.08 PowerSchool Letter to Community and Staff

January 8, 2025

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are writing to inform the Hicksville learning community that yesterday, the district was notified that PowerSchool, the district’s student management system, was a victim of a cybersecurity incident beginning on 12/28/24. The incident involved unauthorized access to information through one of their community-focused customer support portals via a compromised credential. This incident impacts districts that utilize PowerSchool across North America.

What Happened:

PowerSchool experienced unauthorized access to its PowerSource support portal, which exposed user data. Schools around the globe, and thousands of districts across the United States and Canada, are likely affected. PowerSchool is working with law enforcement and cyber security experts to investigate, and will be releasing information throughout the day.

Hicksville Is Prepared:

The Hicksville Technology Department has established plans and procedures to address cyber incidents, including informing the Hicksville community. We are committed to transparency and will continue to share information as it becomes available. We want to assure you that we are prepared.

Our Commitment to Data Security:

• Working with experts: We are working closely with Nassau BOCES and PowerSchool to address this situation. We anticipate more information from both organizations and will continue to share that with you.
• Protecting your child's information: In partnership with Nassau BOCES, we have a Data Privacy Agreement (DPA) with PowerSchool that mandates the protection of student data.
• Staying Informed: We will continue to provide updates as we learn more.

What You Can Do:

• Change your password: As a precaution for parents, we will initiate required password resets for the PowerSchool Parent Portal, Student PowerSchool, and Google passwords. You may also initiate a password reset for PowerSchool.
• Stay vigilant: Be mindful of any suspicious emails or activity related to your PowerSchool account.

We understand this news may be concerning. Please know that we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of our students' information. We will continue to keep you informed and provide updates as they become available.

Sincerely,

Superintendent of Schools

01.14 Update PowerSchool Breach Community Letter

January 14, 2025

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This notice is a follow-up regarding the Cybersecurity Incident involving PowerSchool, the District’s cloud-based Student Management System. PowerSchool is used for various tasks, including: scheduling, attendance, state compliance reporting, data management, faculty management, emergency/medical and health management, and registration. Hicksville is one of many districts across North America that utilize PowerSchool.

The Cybersecurity incident involved unauthorized access to information via a compromised credential through one of PowerSchool’s community-focused customer support portals. PowerSchool has released a public statement and community-facing FAQ document on their website. They will continue to update their General FAQs to help school communities understand the impact of this incident. The Hicksville Technology Department has established plans and procedures to address cyber incidents, including informing the Hicksville community. Our technology team, working with PowerSchool and Nassau BOCES, has determined that the following information from Hicksville Schools was accessed:

• 19,082 student records dating back to 1998, including First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth (DOB), Home Address, email address, all phone numbers, emergency contacts (name, phone number, address, email), ENL status, primary and secondary languages. In addition, medical diagnoses and conditions, including alerts for allergies, diabetes, asthma, etc., and the doctor’s name and phone number may also have been accessed.
• Teacher and administrator information, including First Name, Last Name, assigned school, email address, and New York State TEACH ID number.

As a precaution for students and staff, we will initiate required password resets for the PowerSchool Portal, Student PowerSchool, and Google passwords. We strongly recommend that parents initiate a password reset for PowerSchool. At this time, PowerSchool does not provide a way to require parents to reset their passwords. This precaution is necessary because many individuals use the same password for multiple platforms and accounts. Please remain vigilant and report any suspicious emails or activity related to your PowerSchool account to the technology team at: dfriedman@hicksvillepublicschools.org.

We understand this news may be concerning. We are committed to transparency and will continue to share information as it becomes available.

Sincerely,
Theodore Fulton, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

Dear Hicksville Community,

This email is to follow up on the recent communication from PowerSchool concerning a data security incident that occurred in December 2024. PowerSchool's email includes information about steps they are taking in response to this incident, including an offer for credit monitoring services.

We understand that receiving this email may have caused concern, and we apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused. We were not notified in advance that PowerSchool would be sending out these communications today.

Transparency and the safety of your personal information are our top priorities. We have been actively monitoring this situation and have made all available information accessible to both our employees and the school community. This information is posted on our website at the following link: PowerSchool Breach Information

PowerSchool has also established a dedicated website with comprehensive details about the incident and the mitigating steps they are taking, including the credit monitoring offer. You can access this website at: Notice of United States Data Breach

We commend those employees who promptly reported the PowerSchool email to our department. Your vigilance and commitment to security are greatly appreciated.

The email from PowerSchool is legitimate. We encourage you to review the information provided and consider taking advantage of the credit monitoring services offered by Experian, a reputable credit reporting agency.

We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as new information becomes available.

Sincerely,

Daniel L. Friedman
Director of Technology and Grants
Hicksville Public Schools
200 Division Avenue
Hicksville, New York 11801
Office: 516-733-2170